For years, U.S. President Donald Trump has been a vocal critic of NATO allies, accusing them of not spending enough on their own defense. His pressure, combined with growing fears over Russia’s aggression, has pushed NATO nations to not only meet but also raise their military spending commitments.
In 2025, all 32 NATO members are finally set to reach the long-standing benchmark of investing at least 2% of their GDP on defense. This is a major shift, considering that back in 2014, after Russia annexed Crimea, only three allies met that target. According to NATO’s latest data, even the alliance’s lowest historical spenders including Canada, Spain, Belgium, Italy, and Portugal have now crossed the 2% threshold.
Countries closest to Russia’s border remain the biggest spenders in terms of GDP share. Poland leads with a striking 4.48%, followed by Lithuania (4%), Latvia (3.73%), and Estonia (3.38%). These three Baltic states, along with Poland, are currently the only nations that already meet NATO’s newly agreed benchmark.
While the United States is still NATO’s largest defense contributor in sheer dollars, its spending as a percentage of GDP stands at 3.22%, ranking sixth. The United Kingdom, traditionally one of the alliance’s strongest military powers, is spending 2.4% in 2025, putting it 12th overall behind nations like Greece, Finland, Sweden, and the Netherlands.
NATO has highlighted the progress made in recent years. In 2014, European allies and Canada spent an average of 1.43% of GDP on defense. By 2024, that figure rose to just over 2%, with combined spending of more than $485 billion (adjusted to 2021 prices).
Earlier this year, NATO members agreed to a new, ambitious target investing 5% of GDP in defense by 2035. This would include 3.5% for traditional defense spending and another 1.5% for related areas like cyber security, infrastructure, and resilience.
Both Trump and current NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte have emphasized the urgency of this increase. Trump has repeatedly warned that the U.S. might not defend allies who fail to meet their commitments, calling it “common sense.” Meanwhile, Rutte has cautioned that Russia could pose a direct military threat to NATO within the next five years.
The new benchmark signals a major turning point for the alliance. What started as a guideline in 2006 has now evolved into a binding commitment one that reflects both rising global security risks and mounting U.S. pressure on its allies to carry a larger share of the defense burden.
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